The In-Between
by dearbluebrid
Summary: Hinata tells Sakura the truth. But Karin tells it better.


Sakura could only think of one thing when she looked at her teammates Naruto and Sasuke, and it was the undeniable feeling of misplacement between them. Naruto was, unmistakably, the voice of the summer sun. He was the ray of hope and friendship and he represented everything from yellow pansies to a crisp clear blue sky. There was a happy sort of confidence in his statue as he spoke, even when he was being sad. He used to say, 'Oi Sakura-chan, come by for ramen today, ne?' And she would try her best to smile back and agree.

And Sasuke was her smooth midnight. He was full of talent and power, and full of a secretive love towards his family. There was something different about Sasuke. He had a powerful aurora, but a beautiful simplicity—a quiet simplicity. One that gave and never took.

She looked curiously into the battle field, waiting for the dust to settle. From the looks of it, Madara was severely injured by Gai, and Obito was nowhere to be seen. The ash from above her was dark and raining down onto her pink hair.

She sighed, and squeezed Hinata's hand. 'I'm sure Naruto's okay.' She said. 'As a matter of fact, he's probably out there laughing with Sasuke.'

'Don't you dare lie to me like that Sakura.' Hinata replied coldly.

'What are you talking about?'

'I'm talking about you. If you think I'm dumb enough to believe everything is all happy and cheerful you're wrong.'

'Sorry, I didn't mean it that way.' She said.

Hinata shifted closer to Sakura as they watched the war together off the rocky terrain of a battle field. They were tired. Exhausted. There was no doubt that this war had been long and dragging, but darkness swallows everything in it's path, and making light is always such a hard task.

'You ever think about Sasuke?' Hinata asked quietly.

Sakura sighed. 'I guess.'

'And…?'

'And what?'

Sakura let go of Hinata's hand. 'And I want him to come back. I want him to live here with us again and go home for goodness sakes! What do you think?' She said a little too harshly. 'Isn't it obvious Hinata? I have… feelings for him. Or at least I think I do.'

'Well you don't.' She replied.

'What?'

Hinata took a deep breath. 'I don't think you love Sasuke. I'm just saying… if you really loved him…you know... if you really loved him you would want to understand his sadness. You don't even try.'

'I do.' Skura replied undefinably.

'No Sakura, you don't have feelings for Sasuke. You think you do. I used to think you were smart, but now I don't really know.'

'What are you talking about?' Sakura replied, and HInata was intensely watching the hovering dust in the horizon.

'You're just another one of those girls in love with the idea of love. I bet there's this perfect image of Sasuke in your mind right now. The tall, dark and mysterious man? That's the image, isn't it?'

Sakura stared at her friend intensely. 'I do love him Hinata. So don't…'

Hinata snatched her hand from Saukura's grasp. 'No. No sakura, you don't okay? You love someone who isn't real. You don't even understand an ounce of his suffering. You don't understand anything.'

When Sakura looked upon her teammates, she saw Naruto as the summer sun, and Sasuke as the cool night. There was something so obvious between them that she often got confused when she stood beside them. What was her place really?

And it was obvious she loved Sasuke. He was sort of like the missing night and moon. He was… a necessary darkness, with a soothing simplicity that lurked in his deep dark eyes. He didn't love her back, but she was in love with him… right?

'You don't know what you're talking about Hinata, so shut up, okay?'

Hinata laughed quietly. 'You don't even belong.'

'What did you say?' She said, daring to punch her.

'You heard me Sakura. You don't even belong.' She replied, dusting the dirt of her hands. Hinata stood up and activated her Byakugan. She couldn't see beyond the battle field much, but she knew Naruto and Sasuke were still alive.

She was right about that part. Sakura belonged nowhere. Naruto was the brilliant day, and Sasuke was the soothing night. How could she possibly belong in a puzzle that consisted of two properties? How could she possibly think that she was a part of it all? And now that Hinata spoke to her about Sasuke, she wasn't really sure where she belonged now. She wasn't even sure if she loved Sasuke.

'You're right…I wish I belonged.' Sakura replied quietly.

Suddenly, a shuffle of footsteps approached Saskura. She was deeply deprived of chakara and her limbs were worn down from travelling.

'You're the medic right?' A voice called out to her.

It was none other than Sigetsu, a strange man with a toothy grin. She remembered he was part of Sasuke's team Hebi. In his hands he held Karin, who was coughing out a wad of blood. There was also a large gash on her left thy, and the metallic smell lingered in the air.

'I don't have any chakara left.' She replied coldly. 'You're going to have to find someone else.'

'Oh come on man.' He whined. 'Can you at least bandage her leg for us?'

Sakura looked over at her bleeding red hair and bleeding wounds. It had occurred to her that Karin had a very similar love for Sasuke. Karin didn't really love Sasuke either, so there was no need to antagonize her. She and Karin were much of the same really.

'Well sweet cheeks, you gonna help us or not?' Sigetsu asked, setting her down on the ground.

Sakura rolled her eyes and tore a piece of karin's sweater. Being careful not to move her much, she securely wrapped the cloth around her leg and placed pressure on her wounds. 'You owe me twice now.' Sakura said, not meaning to sound bitter.

'Hinata, could you get me some water? We need to wash this wound on her chest too.'

Hinata nodded, and left temporarily to get some water.

'You're worried about Sasuke aren't you?' Sakura whispered in Karin's ear. Siguestsu placed her in the care of Sakura and disappeared to find his friend Jungo. 'You should quit it before it's too late.'

Karin croaked. 'Too late for what?' She said, barely a whisper.

'…Before you die of your addiction. I see you on the roof tops sometimes Karin. I see you smoke. That shit's bad for your lungs and even worse for chakara.'

Karin gave her a chuckled laugh. 'We all die of our addictions. You could've died from Sasuke. I remember that day… everyone dies from an addiction. It's just a matter of how and when…'

'That's rich.' Sakura replied. 'What are you smiling about?'

'You. You're funny.'

'You're the weird one. All you think about is Sasuke. Sasuke here, Sasuke there… you don't love him. You and I.' She said, tightening her bandage. 'We don't belong… Sasuke's too strong, and we're just… we're just here. We're no part of anything… we're part of nothing.'

Karin gave her a laugh again, but this time she raised her bloodied hand towards Sakura's face. Karin examined her for a minute, stretching her red hands all over her pale features.

'Sakura! Is she going to be okay?' Hinata asked, running back to her. By this time Hinata had returned with the water, and was trying to get Sakura to clean her wounds.

'Sakura! Sakura! She's…'

'Shut up Hinata…'

'Sakura…she's dying..'

'Hinata! Shut up!'

She had only witnessed a few deaths in her hands. Sakura was an excellent medic, and although many died in the battle field, she cured most of them. As Sakura held Karin in her hands, she felt as if the light from inside of her was escaping. It was a fragile light… almost like a spirit… except Sakura did not believe in spirits.

'We're part of something.. Sakura.' Karin said.

'No…No we're not Karin. And I won't let you die thinking that. You and I, we're the same. We're just the extras. Next to the sun and the moon, we're just the little things in between.'

'No…no, you're wrong.'

'No I'm not! I'm right! I'm right! Look around us Karin! This is hell! This is…'

'We're the in-betweens. The almost.' She coughed heavily. 'Sakura, we're the dawn between the days. We're the sunrises and the sunsets. We're not really sure where to go or not really sure how bright we should shine, but we are something.'

'Don't…'

Karin angrily grabbed Sakura's wrist and glared at her with angry beading eyes. 'We are the dawn in the skies… the spring and fall. Like buds waiting to sprout, and flowers waiting to bloom. I'm not supposed to know, okay? I'm supposed to be unsure. And oh god I wish you knew how important we are. We are the stiches that sew everything together… we are..'

Sakura looked at her and shook her head. She had spent most of her life trying not to cry. But sometimes it happens. Your throat swells up, your tears are heavy, and the sky is suddenly a safe place to look at in case the tears fall.

'…we are what connect the light and the dark so please don't cry... You're not supposed to cry.'

NOTES: I hate it when Karin's the antagonist, and I hate it when people think I don't like Sakura. She's not the brightest character, or the most liked, but that's what makes her a great character. She's got flaws that are obvious and they make her identifiable.

Oh and Karin's last words… if you don't remember, those were the same words Karin said to Sakura when she was healing her when Sasuke stabbed her with his chidori.


End file.
